Improvement in liquid-meters



, 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

S. D. A. MASON. l LIQUID-METER. N0.174,694:. Patented March14, 1876.

\\\ l/llll/lll/ll/llll/ll/lllllllllll/lIlllllllllllllll/ll/ Il l SAMUEL D. A. MASON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS PATENT GEEICE.

RIGHT TO ERNST H. F. D. GEEWEE, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN'LlQuio-METERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l74.,6911, dated March 14,1876; application filed February 25, 1876.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL D. A. MASON,

of Chicago, in the -county of Cook and the State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Wateror Fluid Meters,

, which improvement is fully set forth in the Vcross'section of the piston used in my machine.

Fig. 4 is a central cross-section of my machine, the piston and pistonrod being removed. Fig. 5 is a detailed view ofthe valve and valve shalt, andthe apertures opened and closed by the valve. Fig. 6 is a bottom view of the piston and its sleeves, the detent-plates being shown as sectioned horizontally. Fig. 7 represents a modication-of my piston packing.

The nat-ure of my invention consists of certain constructions, combinations, and arrangements of parts, as hereinafter described and specifically claimed, whereby water to be delivered to a consumer may be measured in its ow, and without interrupting the same, and whereby the quantity measured may be registered by a registering apparatus indicating the strokes of a double-actingpiston.

The object of my invention is to reduce the size of the water-meter by making it doubleactin g with a single piston, and to make a more simple and cheaper machine by reducing the number of the operating parts.

In the drawings, A represents a cylinder with covers B and Bl. The said covers are provided with tubular sockets b b1, and with center pivot-screws b2 b3 at the ends thereof. The cylinder A is provided with two separateA Water-ways, t al, which cross over each other about midway, so that, for instance, the water-way a is at the right side ofthe cylinder at the left end, and vice versa at the right end.

The said water-ways a al are continued through' the heads B2 B3 of the covers B B1 into the interior of the cylinder. Between the center screws a shaft, C, is secured, to which the two piston-heads D Dl are loosely fitted. The said pistonheads are united by screws d, in the same manner as piston and follower are in a steam-engine, and they are also interlocked by closely-fitting annular rims d1 d2, whereby'a chamber, d3, is left for the packing-ring E. An interior chamber, d4, formed bythe lsaid construction of the piston-heads D D', incloses a collar, F, with a spring, G, fastened to it at g.

The other end of the spring G is, by aid of a pin or screw, g', :attached to the piston-heads l) D. The collar F is confined to a straight longitudinal motion on the shaft C by means of a tongue, f, which moves in a straight groove, c, in the shaft C. Thus the pistonheads l) D are prevented by the springs G from casual'turning. The said piston-heads are provided with prolonged hubs H, which are loosely fitted on the shalt C, and have each a spiral slot, h h1, into which, at the ends of the cylinder, the detent-plates h2 h3 are fitted, so as to effect a slight turn of the piston at each stroke of the same. Near the ends of the cylinder the shaft C is provided with the arms I I', to which arms the spring-levers J J and the valves K K are pivoted. The spring-evers J J have latching-pins j jl,

which are pressed by the springs t l againsty the end surfaces of the cylinder, and there enter by turns the stop-sockets jz js. The valves K Kl are made to alternately cover the inlets and outlets a al by the movements of the arms I l', hereafter described. The stroke of the piston is terminated o r adjusted by two thrust pins, m m', on the covers B B1 of the cylinder. At the top of the cylinder A a plug, N, is screwed into the metal, and the upper part of a shalt, O, is passed through it. The said shaft O extends into the cylinder, and is there provided with an arm, 0, and a collar, o', which latter bears against the plug N, and thus prevents the escape of water. A spring, n, bearing against the lever P, keeps the collar o in contact with the plug N. To the lever P a spring-pawl, p, is attached, whereby the wheels of the registering apparatus (not shown) are moved. A tensionspring, Q, causes the back motion of the lever P. A casing, R, above the cylinder serves for the reception of the registering apparatus.

The water is supplied through the inlet a to the water-way a, and it is exhausted through the outlet a3. from the water-way al.

Operation: Water being let on into the inlet a? fills the water-way a. The left end of the said y 7 water-way being open, the water fills the cylinder, and propels the piston to the right until its progress is checked by the thrust-pin m. By the said stroke the end of the spiral slot h is moved near the stationary detent-plate h3, and the piston has thereby received a turn a little more than equal to the distance apart of the centers of the openings a a1 in the cover B. Y

The spring G is thereby thrown out of balance, and exerts a torsional strain upon the shaft C, which, however, does not yield, as the lever J' on the arm I' is locked with its pin jl in the socket j. Before the piston reaches the thrust-pin m it strikes the lever J', and thereby removes the pin jl from the stop-socket ja. The spring G immediately resumes its original condition, and thereby turns l the shaft C and moves the armfI, with the lever J and valve K', over` the opening a1, and thereby closes it. At the same time the arm I moves the valve K from the opening al to the opening a, which is thereby closed. The pin)l of the lever J is, during the last operation, moved to the stopsocket jz, (shown With dotted lines in Fig. 1,) into which it enters, thus latching the shaft U to the cover B. The water now enters through the water-way a in the cover B1, pushing the piston back and the water behind it, through the water-way a and the outlet a3, into the consulners supply-pipe. During the movement of the piston the spring G is, bythe action of the slots h h1, wound up in the opposite direction, and when the piston strikes the lever J the shaft Gis turned back by the spring G, and causes the waterways a (seen in Figs. 4 and 1) and afl (seen in Fig. 1) to be closed by the valves K K', and

also causes the pin j* of the spring-lever J to enter the stop-socket ja. Thus the shaft C is caused by the slots h h1 of the piston, and the detents h2 h3 and the spring G on the shaft C, to oscillate from one water-way to the other, while it is kept in place between the oscillations by the stopping-pins jj and sockets '2 '3 In Fig. 7 I have shown, as a modification, a leather packing for my piston, which may, in a majority of cases, be preferable to metal packing E. f

The operation of my machine would be precisely the same as described if the outlet and inlet were reversed.

The plates h2 h3 may, to avoid friction, be provided with one or two friction-rollers, which would bear and travel on the spiral sides of the slots h h1 of the piston-hubs.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The vibrating shaft and the `valves atv tached thereto, said shaft having a reciprocating piston arranged to turn and slide back and forth on it, for the purpose of expelling thewater or liquid within the cylinder, and for releasing the valves and reversing them, substantially as described.

2. The case for containing the mechanism, constructed with inlet and outlet passages at each end, and with the separate crossed passages a al, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the spring G, the piston and its obliquely-grooved sleeves, the detents, vibrating shaft, the valves and their latchingpins, and the stops jzj of the case, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the reciprocating piston and the vibrating arm O, which operates the indicator mechanism.

Witness my hand this 21st day of February, in the matter of my application for a patent on my improved water or liquid meter.

SAMUEL I). A. MASON.

Witnesses:

M. C, KAIM, JNO. G. ALLEN. 

